The fact that it might have been in a wreck is a big deal for some and not for others. I knew mine was in a wreck, when I brought it. The whole front clip had been replaced and no one eve bothered putting the round Corvette Medallion, back on the nose. Didn't bother me none, because I liked the little bitch, right off the bat and she's been a fun little beast to drive. Your call on this one, it's going to be your Corvette if you buy it and if your good with that fact, then so be it.

 

Right! Back in the day when I had a 07 Z06. People were all **** about their cars being wrecked. The reason is that it would decrease the resale value. Why pay as much for one that had been wrecked when you can get one that wasn't. It is a different case here. As long as the repairs have been done well enough then I'm good with it.

 

Who said anything about perfect? Those grills may be the worst I've ever seen. These repairs have not been done right. What has to be crooked for the bumper to not line up with the body? Seriously. Frame extensions? Frame itself? My car was hit in the front sometime in the 70's. They cut off the front nose, then cut the front nose off of a new upper surround and actually overlapped the new and the old pieces. At some point I noticed the front crossmember was bent so bought a new crossmember. Bolted new crossmember on and now the radiator support didn't fit. Turns out straight crossmembers only work in straight frames. But it still looked better than this car.

I think you can get a much better 72 base engine automatic for that same money.

 

Inspect the front end carefully. Take a close look at the frame and see if both sides look 'even' or at least straight. Take a look at frames before you even go, so you have an idea of what the frame should look like. So you'll know if you see distorted sections or welded up stuff. Look too, at the A-arms, their shape and relation to the frame.

Check the front clip, where it bonds to the firewall and see if the entire clip got replaced. Mine was done pretty well, but there was a little bit of sloppy seam, nothing structural, it just had to be ground down to look good. Stick your head inside the inner fenders and look with a flashlight there too.

Mine was completely missing the grills, the bottom pan, had turn signal lights dangling, headlights had cheesy repairs and on and on. It all got fixed in due time. Perfection it is not, but I got it looking halfway decent.

Before: When I just got the car, three years ago...





After: Still has fiberglass nose in unpainted black, but I kind of like it that way and it's my Corvette, flaws and all and l love her for what she is.

 

I have no doubt at all the car was wrecked in the right front. It's not just the grills I'm looking at. It's a combination of items.
Nose support bar bent. Just left of the left headlight.
Right front wheel is set back.
Right front fender is too high in the middle of the wheel well. The side grill is pointing slightly downward.
Nose is high in the middle but low on the corners.
Lower valance is too far forward on right side. Since it is bonded to the fenders it cannot be out of adjustment.
Door hinge bushing are bad on both doors. Both doors are low in the front because of the bushings. The driver door, and probably the passenger door, was adjusted at the lower hinge.
The doors are low, the beauty lines don't line up, but the door gaps are perfect. The rear gap should be wider towards the top of the door.
The beauty line of the door does not line up with the line on the quarter just in front of the rear tire.
The large warp in the nose just above the right headlight doesn't usually happen on a 72 because it is riveted to the support bar. Unless it has been wrecked, support bar completely rotted out, or has been separated from the support bar.
The ends of the front bumper have been bent upwards to line up with the body. They should be level.
The right side of the front bumper is bolted thru the fender but is way too high. Either the bolt hole has been reamed out or the bolt is missing.
Right side rocker cover lines up with body but not with front fender.

Other observations:
Very cheap imported windshield. Technically not legal in Texas.
Passenger rear door jam. Bodywork was not done by a shop familiar with Corvettes.
Many incorrect screws in interior.
Parking brake slide missing.
As mentioned before, center gauge cluster installed very badly.
Wiper door does not work at all. In one pic it shows the engine running and the door still up.
Evap hoses missing.
Vac hoses are a mess.
Hose retainer behind booster missing. This may sound like I'm being way too picky but why was it removed in the first place?
Wrong bolts in ignition shielding. Should have wing bolts. Once again a very minor detail but it does shows the mindset of the person that owns it.
Radiator seals missing.
Spray can detail job in engine compartment.

When you add all this together it's not a pretty picture. It's not so much the actual imperfections but how the imperfections got there.
Unless there is a sticker inside the fender saying it came from Ecklers or any other vendors, it's very hard for me to tell you how to look for body repairs. Sometimes it comes down to the color of the bonding adhesive, cracks in the original adhesive, bonding strips that are missing or too many of them, and even the two dimples on the inside of the front fender lip.
You also have to look at the money spent. Paint jobs and interiors cost big money but the little inexpensive parts were not purchased. With the doors sitting low in the front, are the door seals making full contact. If not what will it take to make them seal? If the doors need to be raised the door gaps will have to be recut. This is why I would like to see pics before the paint job. Everybody takes pics of their vette when they first bring it home.
Mike

 

Look above the red wire and see the gloppy job they did with the filler and fiberglass:




And look above the sticker on the shelf. More gloppy, but at least it was structurally sound. Three years later, hasn't cracked yet:




Oh, and the interior was a total disaster, but it had a brand new rear suspension, differential, trailing arms, rear spring and exhaust. Basically a shell that ran and drove.

Don't have any pics, but nearly the entire interior got replaced or refurbished.

 

Finally, I'm not advocating buying this car, nor am I saying not to. You should know how much you'll be into it, by the time you're done, but I doubt you have the C3 experience yet, to know that. Mine is still a substandard C3 by most measures, but it works for me, your experience may vary.

You've got $25K cars that were excellent in many respects and now you're looking at $17K cars that as said often by me, always need something and then some... $8K sounds like a lot, but it's not, because you'll probably easily exceed that, with this one and still come up short on the more expensive cars, that have had far more than that, invested, because most of the owners of these cars are upside down and you as the buyer, have the advantage, because the C3 market is a lot softer than the Camaro or Chevelle market.

I must have an easy $20-$23K in my '74 and it ain't worth crap and that's the way it is.

 

Thanks for pointing these things out but unfortunately I can't see some of them.
"Nose support bar bent. Just left of the left headlight." What picture? Where do you see this?
How can you tell the glass is a cheap imported windshield?
Some of the things you point out don't bother me too much. After 45 years I can see some of that stuff happening. I'm not going to restore this car to the way it was when it was built. At least not anytime soon. I just want to put some nice wheels on it and drive it on Saturdays.

 

Just my .02 worth, but I think it looks pretty good especially if you could get it for around $16k. You are going to find things that aren't perfect on a chrome bumperVette in this price range. I would make sure it is solid (frame, birdcage, etc.) and that it runs and drives well. If you want a nice driver this looks good to me, if you are looking for a perfect show car you won't find one at this price point.

 

That is how I feel. I'm not seeing all of the things traccdog is pointing out. I'm going to inspect it with an open mind and a good checklist.

 

I can't see a lot of the things being pointed out either.

And at 16K or around that price a lot of it doesn't matter.

Take a good look for yourself and decide what you want to do with the car, what it will cost you to get there, and if you will be happy at the end of it all.

That's what really matters

 

I paid 19 for my 68 verte and noticed alot more small problems than I knew to look for after I bought it because I was a rookie. Nothing was wrong with my frame, it was mostly bubba stuff that can be fixed. My worry would be a bent frame that prevents the front to track straight. Definitely take itfor a ride with a chase car to look for crabbing and to see how it tracks. While your driving you need to look for pulling, difficulty steering in either direction, weird braking,etc...

Inspecting it visually on the inside and outside of the body and frame theres obvious stuff to look for. A lift would help you alot. Bad fiberglass or bondo will be bvious. You need to get under it and look for not factory welds or cracking. If that all checks out I would get it for 16 easy. Theres not too many in that price range that look that good around here.

 

My feeling too. I just don't know what a non-factory weld looks like compared to a factory weld. I plan to take it to a shop to get it on a lift.

It does have a crack on the fiberglass that he told me about but he didn't post a picture of. He sent me a picture of it. It looks like a stress crack along the edge of the rear fender.

 

What I mean by that would be if they cut off the front end and rewelded.it or if it was cracked and welded a plate on. It would be out of place and obvious.

 

All the welds on my car look like crap. Anything that looks nice it not factory.

 

I don't know why there is even any question about this car . It's a nice looking car for the money. That is a driver car price for a chrome bumper car . If the frame is solid and there are no water leaks inside and you don't plan on using it in bad weather anymore for it to get any worse , then it is a no-brainer to buy it and enjoy it despite any minor flaws.

 

 

Did you get it? Its not listed anymore

 

The odometer reading ...the numbers are not all in line. The '6' should be level with the other numbers. It is either an age issue...or somebody was messing around in the gauge. Or it has rolled over and add 100,000 miles to it. I know the plastic keeper that keeps the numbers to stay aligned can break...but it is not under a lot of tension when odometer wheel is turning. Seeing this would cause me to look at the car VERY CLOSELY. That is all I am trying to 'say'.

 

After you letting us know you want a driver...then unless you see something catastrophic....do what makes YOU happy.

I also...for the life of me did not want to pick the car to death using only the photos that were shown due to it is kinda pointless. Yes it has some issues.

Either I need to get my eyes worked on...but for the life of me I can not see any way that a person can tell that the windshield is incorrect.

DUB